Helping our children develop a love of learning
Helping our children develop a love of learning
By Natalie Bone, Junior School Head at Sidcot School
For our children to meet their full potential, we must help them develop a true love of learning.
At Sidcot, we believe our Junior School provides the perfect setting for this. During a child’s formative years, the foundations are laid for life-long education. It is a crucially important period of our learning journey because it can set us off on the right path; the path to a life-long love of learning.
But somewhere along the way, our educational system has become broken. A focus on achievement, progress and SATs exam success has led to our children becoming anxious, stressed and worried from the continued pressure they now face. These negative emotions are no doubt impacting their ability to enjoy and love learning. Alarmingly, studies have shown that from Year 4 onwards, a child’s enjoyment of learning drops continuously. Many have blamed the increasing focus on exams for this.
But our younger children still learn for the sheer joy of it1. We must tap into this joy and help sustain it and encourage our children to continue to be curious for years to come. In this article, I want to highlight five ways that I believe we are helping our pupils develop a true love of learning:
1.We give children space
We give our pupils space in two ways. Firstly, we provide literal space. One of the unique attractions of Sidcot Junior School’s campus is its countryside location. Our pupils have 150 acres of the Mendip Hills to explore and we actively encourage this. Furthermore, with outdoor classrooms, Forest School, allotments and gardens, they are never short of fresh air.
Secondly, we give children space to learn how they want to. For example, we don’t believe SATs or Common Entrance tests are an effective way of either helping children learn or ensuring they enjoy the process. In fact, we believe they only act as a distraction and provide unnecessary stress. Instead, we find children benefit from the space in their day to explore, to question and to be curious. After all, it is these skills that are crucial to our children’s futures, rather than their ability to regurgitate facts and figures.
2. We give children time
Time is crucial to any child’s development. We all grow and learn at different speeds and this must be at the forefront of our minds when trying to help pupils enjoy learning. Taking the time to get to know our children, understand their strengths, likes and dislikes helps teachers tailor lessons to suit the learning style of each individual child.
It matters to us that children are treated as individuals. We know that one size does not fit all, and at Sidcot we are lucky to have the time to find the right approach for each child. Our staff specialise in tailored teaching and use a variety of methods to engage pupils, so they enjoy the experience of learning.
3.We help children find their passion
To help children truly love learning, we need to help them discover and explore their passion. It has been shown that learning is improved when children are allowed to choose the topics that are of most interest to them, meaning it’s important for teachers to build choice into the classroom.
Once our teachers understand what it is that makes our pupils excited to learn, we weave this into our lessons. This will help the child further explore their passion, while also developing other skills.
4.We give children confidence
For children to enjoy learning, they need to be confident in their ability to do so. Confident children enjoy learning and want to learn more. We can help grow confidence by giving pupils positive feedback and fostering an optimistic atmosphere in the classroom.
Increasing confidence can be achieved by engaging children in conversions about the activities they are undertaking and providing specific and constructive feedback about what was good about what they did. This will help build enthusiasm for the task at hand and ultimately, increase their confidence.
5.We give children hands-on experiences
Research has consistently shown that hands-on learning experiences are the most effective form of learning2. When pupils can be hands-on in the classroom by interacting, moving and touching objects during their lessons, they take information on-board better.
Our own memories of school probably prove that most of us don’t enjoy studying a textbook or through note taking. Not only does hands-on learning help children process information better, but they also enjoy the experience so much more. Enjoying the experience sparks increased confidence, which can then develop into a passion. The end result is simply, a true love for learning.
If you’d like to see how Sidcot Junior School could help your child meet their full potential, feel free to visit us at one of our upcoming Open Mornings: https://www.sidcot.org.uk/admissions/admissions/opportunities-visit/open-mornings
